Michael Manley was born in 1924 to parents who were both esteemed by the Jamaican people. His mother, artist and educator Edna Manley, was among the first artists in Jamaica to portray a black person in her work.
His father, National Hero Norman Washington Manley, was one of the authors of Universal Adult Suffrage and self-government for Jamaica. He was the founder of the People's National Party and was Jamaica's first Premier when independence was granted in 1962.
Manley attended Jamaica College, the same institution his father and older brother had attended, where he showed early signs of a strong, personal drive to ensure fairness.
He left Jamaica in 1943 to attend university in Canada, but his desire to play his part in the ongoing war effort led him to join the Royal Canadian Air Force instead. Although he completed his training as a pilot, the war ended before he could be deployed. He then went to England where he went on to complete his Bachelor's Degree in Government at the London School of Economics. While in London, he was a member of the West Indian Students' Union where he crossed paths with other young West Indians, some of whom would go on to become prominent leaders in the postcolonial Caribbean, such as Errol Barrow (Prime Minister of Barbados), Forbes Burnham (President of Guyana), Elsa Goveia (Historian), G. Arthur Brown (Governor of the Bank of Jamaica), Allan Rae (Cricketer) and Arthur Wint (Physician and Sprinter).
Manley returned home in 1950 and began working as a writer for the political newspaper Public Opinion. His column "The Root of the Matter" covered a range of issues of topical interest, which included cricket and of course, politics. He then went on to work as a trade unionist for fifteen years, until he officially entered the arena of public politics.
Manley remained close to both his parents until their deaths. He had one brother, Douglas Roy Manley, who also served Jamaica as a member of the Manley administration, and as an educator.
After a period of ill health, Manley died in 1997, survived by his fifth wife, Glynne Manley, and his five children from five marriages, Rachel, Sarah, Joseph, Natasha and David.